Supply chain solutions provider NFI was recognized for its sustainability practices with an award for Excellence in Social Responsibility for its Green Initiatives from Communitas Awards, an organization that honors exceptional businesses, organizations and individuals that are unselfishly giving of themselves and their resources and changing how they do business to benefit their communities. In addition to NFI, the list of honorees includes companies such as Uncle Ben’s, The American Board of Pediatrics, Pfizer, ING, Doubletree Hotels and American Airlines.
“We are honored to be recognized by the Communitas Awards for our focus on social responsibility, a primary company value which we take very seriously,” says Sid Brown, chief executive officer of NFI, based in Cherry Hill, N.J. “Because of the very nature of our business, we are keenly aware that every step we take to reduce emissions and fuel usage, adopt alternative energy sources and save resources will have a positive impact on the environment.”
NFI’s sustainability initiatives span the company’s divisions and departments, including intermodal, distribution, real estate, packaging and solar, in addition to logistics and transportation. NFI has adopted an interdisciplinary approach toward researching, testing and implementing ideas and techniques aimed at balancing reductions in emissions and fuel consumption with cost management, as well as employees and customer satisfaction.
“It is in the best interests of our customers, our employees and our neighbors when NFI utilizes proven sustainability methods to deliver, package, store and distribute goods,” says Robert H. Barron, senior vice president and general counsel at NFI who leads NFI’s Sustainability Team, an interdepartmental group that brainstorms ways the company can facilitate eco-friendly trucking, distribution and logistics.
NFI says it has explored and implemented a variety of methods that have improved the company’s overall sustainability outcomes. On the road, these include reductions in truck idling time, lowering speed limits, reducing horsepower, installing battery-powered auxiliary power units, improved truck aerodynamics, weight reductions through truck and trailer design, and identifying and correcting improper driving habits, to name a few.
The Communitas Awards is an international effort to recognize the spirit of communitas, people helping people. It is an outgrowth of the pro bono recognition program of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (www.amcpros.com), a member-based organization that honors creative achievement and fosters partnerships with charities and community organizations.
“Communitas winners unselfishly give of themselves and their resources, and are changing the way they do business to benefit their communities,” says Ed Dalheim, executive director of AMCP.
